Bangladesh Police Deny Any Rescued Hostages In Their Custody

NEW DELHI — Police in Bangladesh have denied they're still holding anyone rescued during this month's bloody attack on a restaurant by radical Islamists, saying they've questioned and released two former hostages reportedly missing since the attack.

Masudur Rahman, a Dhaka police spokesman, said Saturday that Hasnat Karim, a British national, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student at the University of Toronto, were not in police custody.

Rahman was commenting on a statement by New York-based Human Rights Watch asking Bangladesh's government to guarantee the rights of Karim and Khan, who were held hostage by the attackers and later questioned by authorities.

The men's families and a rights group say the two have been missing since then.